Subtopic Deep Dive
Psychedelics Substance Use Disorders
Research Guide
What is Psychedelics Substance Use Disorders?
Psychedelics Substance Use Disorders research examines classic psychedelics like psilocybin for treating alcohol, tobacco, and opioid dependence through controlled trials measuring abstinence rates and craving reduction.
Studies test psilocybin-assisted therapy against alcohol use disorder (AUD) and smoking cessation. Johnson et al. (2016) reported long-term smoking abstinence rates up to 80% at 12 months in a psilocybin-facilitated program (668 citations). Bogenschutz et al. (2022) found psilocybin reduced heavy drinking days by 83% versus placebo in AUD patients (586 citations).
Why It Matters
Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy shows potential to address addiction resistant to standard treatments, with Johnson et al. (2016) demonstrating sustained tobacco abstinence superior to nicotine replacement therapies. Bogenschutz et al. (2022) trial results indicate reduced relapse rates in AUD, potentially lowering global healthcare costs from substance dependence. Carhart-Harris and Goodwin (2017) review highlights psychedelics' role in disrupting addiction cycles via neuroplasticity (627 citations).
Key Research Challenges
Long-term Abstinence Measurement
Trials like Johnson et al. (2016) track smoking cessation over years, but small samples limit generalizability. Attrition biases outcomes in follow-ups. Bogenschutz et al. (2022) note placebo effects complicate interpreting sustained AUD reductions.
Optimal Dosing Protocols
Psilocybin doses vary across studies; Goodwin et al. (2022) compared 25 mg versus 10 mg for depression, suggesting dose-response for addiction too. Psychological support integration remains unstandardized. Carhart-Harris et al. (2017) fMRI data links dosing to brain changes but lacks addiction-specific replication.
Adverse Event Management
Goodwin et al. (2022) reported adverse events with high-dose psilocybin in treatment-resistant cases. Integration of REBUS model (Carhart-Harris and Friston, 2019) aims to predict risks, but controlled addiction trials need safety scaling. Limited data on polydrug users hinders application.
Essential Papers
Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: an open-label feasibility study
Robin Carhart‐Harris, Mark Bolstridge, James Rucker et al. · 2016 · The Lancet Psychiatry · 1.5K citations
Effects of Psilocybin-Assisted Therapy on Major Depressive Disorder
Alan K. Davis, Frederick S. Barrett, Darrick G. May et al. · 2020 · JAMA Psychiatry · 1.2K citations
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03181529.
REBUS and the Anarchic Brain: Toward a Unified Model of the Brain Action of Psychedelics
Robin Carhart‐Harris, Karl Friston · 2019 · Pharmacological Reviews · 1.0K citations
This paper formulates the action of psychedelics by integrating the free-energy principle and entropic brain hypothesis. We call this formulation relaxed beliefs under psychedelics (REBUS) and the ...
Single-Dose Psilocybin for a Treatment-Resistant Episode of Major Depression
Guy M. Goodwin, Scott T. Aaronson, Oscar Alvarez et al. · 2022 · New England Journal of Medicine · 950 citations
In this phase 2 trial involving participants with treatment-resistant depression, psilocybin at a single dose of 25 mg, but not 10 mg, reduced depression scores significantly more than a 1-mg dose ...
Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment-resistant depression: six-month follow-up
Robin Carhart‐Harris, Mark Bolstridge, Camilla Day et al. · 2017 · Psychopharmacology · 927 citations
Although limited conclusions can be drawn about treatment efficacy from open-label trials, tolerability was good, effect sizes large and symptom improvements appeared rapidly after just two psilocy...
Rapid antidepressant effects of the psychedelic ayahuasca in treatment-resistant depression: a randomized placebo-controlled trial
Fernanda Palhano-Fontes, Dayanna Barreto, Heloisa Onias et al. · 2018 · Psychological Medicine · 777 citations
Abstract Background Recent open-label trials show that psychedelics, such as ayahuasca, hold promise as fast-onset antidepressants in treatment-resistant depression. Methods To test the antidepress...
Long-term follow-up of psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation
Matthew W. Johnson, Albert Garcia‐Romeu, Roland R. Griffiths · 2016 · The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse · 668 citations
These results suggest that in the context of a structured treatment program, psilocybin holds considerable promise in promoting long-term smoking abstinence. The present study adds to recent and hi...
Reading Guide
Foundational Papers
Start with Johnson et al. (2016) for psilocybin smoking cessation evidence (668 citations), then Krebs and Johansen (2013) population study showing no mental health risks from psychedelics.
Recent Advances
Study Bogenschutz et al. (2022) AUD trial (586 citations) and Goodwin et al. (2022) dosing insights (950 citations), followed by Carhart-Harris and Friston (2019) REBUS model (1029 citations).
Core Methods
Psilocybin-assisted therapy with prep/integration sessions (Johnson 2016); double-blind placebo-controlled designs (Bogenschutz 2022); fMRI for mechanisms (Carhart-Harris 2017).
How PapersFlow Helps You Research Psychedelics Substance Use Disorders
Discover & Search
Research Agent uses searchPapers('psilocybin alcohol use disorder') to retrieve Bogenschutz et al. (2022), then citationGraph to map 586 citing papers and findSimilarPapers for Johnson et al. (2016) smoking cessation analogs. exaSearch uncovers unpublished trials via ClinicalTrials.gov links.
Analyze & Verify
Analysis Agent applies readPaperContent on Bogenschutz et al. (2022) to extract % heavy drinking days data, verifyResponse with CoVe against raw stats, and runPythonAnalysis for meta-analysis of abstinence rates using pandas on Johnson et al. (2016) follow-up metrics. GRADE grading scores evidence as moderate for psilocybin in AUD.
Synthesize & Write
Synthesis Agent detects gaps like missing opioid trials via contradiction flagging across Carhart-Harris et al. (2017) and Bogenschutz et al. (2022); Writing Agent uses latexEditText for methods sections, latexSyncCitations to insert 20+ refs, latexCompile for PDF, and exportMermaid for REBUS model diagrams.
Use Cases
"Meta-analyze psilocybin abstinence rates from smoking and AUD trials"
Research Agent → searchPapers → Analysis Agent → runPythonAnalysis(pandas forest plot of Johnson 2016 + Bogenschutz 2022 rates) → CSV export of effect sizes with GRADE scores.
"Write LaTeX review on psilocybin for tobacco dependence"
Synthesis Agent → gap detection → Writing Agent → latexEditText(intro) → latexSyncCitations(Johnson 2016 et al.) → latexCompile → PDF with integrated fMRI figures from Carhart-Harris 2017.
"Find code for psychedelic brain network analysis"
Research Agent → paperExtractUrls(Carhart-Harris 2017 fMRI) → paperFindGithubRepo → githubRepoInspect → runPythonAnalysis(matplotlib REBUS simulation) → verified network diagrams.
Automated Workflows
Deep Research workflow scans 50+ papers via citationGraph on Bogenschutz et al. (2022), generating structured AUD review with GRADE tables. DeepScan applies 7-step CoVe to verify Johnson et al. (2016) long-term data against 668 citations. Theorizer builds addiction models linking REBUS (Carhart-Harris and Friston, 2019) to abstinence mechanisms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What defines Psychedelics Substance Use Disorders research?
It covers trials using psilocybin for alcohol, tobacco, opioid dependence, measuring abstinence and cravings, as in Bogenschutz et al. (2022) and Johnson et al. (2016).
What methods are central?
Psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy with psychological support, per Johnson et al. (2016) smoking protocol and Bogenschutz et al. (2022) double-blind AUD design.
What are key papers?
Johnson et al. (2016) on smoking cessation (668 citations), Bogenschutz et al. (2022) on AUD (586 citations), Carhart-Harris and Goodwin (2017) review (627 citations).
What open problems exist?
Scaling to large RCTs, opioid applications, long-term safety beyond 12 months, as gaps in Johnson et al. (2016) and Goodwin et al. (2022) highlight.
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Part of the Psychedelics and Drug Studies Research Guide